Monte Carlo – Monaco & Nice – France – November 2008

In 2008, whilst I was working in Hong Kong, my friend Sandy and I made plans to travel to Europe for six weeks to visit the UK, France, Monaco and Switzerland. We started in October when I finished in HK and had such a great time I wanted to record my memories on this blog, starting with a post on Monte Carlo and Nice.

To arrive in Nice, we caught the train from Lyon where we had been staying. The train was great; very comfortable without any problems. We had arranged a lovely hotel alongside the water and took a taxi from the train station when we arrived. Sandy speaks intermediate French and she was speaking with the locals every day which made life a lot easier for us to get around.

Every day, we would take an early morning jog along that famous Nice promenade along with many others undertaking their daily exercise.

I loved the buildings in Nice [well I loved the buildings wherever we went in France]…the architecture is so beautiful and such a great way to spend an afternoon; just walking around the streets and finding great places for a pastry and a glass of wine and back along the promenade.

After our exercise and returning to the hotel, we would head out usually for a late breakfast at one of the cafes along the beachfront which was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours; sipping tea overlooking the sea before we went sightseeing.

The Nice coastline is beautiful; both during the day and evening…really and truly gorgeous.

One day we walked part way to Monte Carlo which is about eight kilometres from Nice and again had wonderful views along the way…

especially the fabulous boats; at the same time we were both wishing we were rich!! Still wishing as I am typing!!

We also took a half day afternoon trip to Monaco with a tour guide in a small bus – this was a great way to see the municipality. We first saw the Monte Carlo casino and of course took the obligatory photograph outside. We didn’t bother going inside as we didn’t have much time and instead walked around the area in the sunshine.

We then visited the Prince’s Palace of Monaco (just the grounds as time was limited) which is the official residence of the Prince and now, also Princess Charlotte and their twins.

We then were given the opportunity to walk around the local area to enjoy the sights including the beautiful mediterranean sea and some lovely cobblestone streets and buildings as the sun was setting.

And our final stop was a cafe in a beautiful old building before heading back on the bus to return to Nice.

Our next city was Paris…but that can wait for another time!! And my one regret is I didn’t know my blogger friend Sophie, who lives in Nice, at the time of this visit.

Some superb photos of both Nice and Monaco. I have visited twice, the first time for a winter weekend and then at Easter 2010 where we stayed supposedly for one week. The day before we were due to return home was when aircraft were grounded due to the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland – so we got to stay an extra week, not the worst place to be stuck in!!

Amazing pictures Sue 🙂 What a lovely time you both must have had! I love the little cobbled courtyard and water pump and see that there must be an artist in residence too 😉 I could certainly live there!!

I went to Montecarlo when I was 14! Now that I see your pics I remember everything. My pics from that trip are all printed! Do you remember those times when you went on holidays and came back with rolls of film to develop?

Sue, this is so amazing! Watching and reading about my city through your own eyes, it just tastes like magic! I love it and it’s a beautiful, wonderful surprise for me! You wish you knew me before, but well, hey, you know me now so you HAVE to come back!! I sincerely hope to meet you someday, here or there 🙂

Hi Marta. Firstly glad my photos brought back memories. And definitely recall bringing back rolls and rolls of films and getting double prints – one for me and one for my friend who I travelled with. Then putting them all into albums. How times have changed!!!